Another shocking case of sheer negligence by the government authorities came up in Balod town of Durg district. It has been reported that post eye surgery at the camp one woman lost her life and 25 of them lost vision in an eye (the eye on which the surgery was done). The Jyoti Mela camp was held from September 21 to 30, and the victims who came from nearby villages, were operated upon September 29. All the victims are over 55 and belong to poor farmer families.

“They caught infection due to lapses in operation procedure and lack of proper fumigation in the OT. Three doctors who had conducted the operation besides other medical officers were held liable,” said Drug Collector Reena B. Kangle. Out of the 93 patients who were operated on September 29, 38 caught infection. Of these 25 have lost vision of the eye they were operated upon. Patients claim that many more have been affected as those who came from the distant areas are yet to approach the administration.

“The operations were conducted as part of central scheme, National Blindness Programme. It does not have the component of compensation. The state government has to decide about this,” Kangle said.